From left, Democratic Senate candidate Gordon Ball, the Chicken and former U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis share a moment before Ball kicked off a “No Show Lamar” bus tour.VOTER GUIDESee a list of candidates and proposed amendments at timesfreepress.com/voterguide2014.
NASHVILLE — Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is defending his decision not to take part in a Senate debate later this afternoon with a blast at his Democratic rival, Gordon Ball, who is.
“A man who runs around with a chicken isn’t running a serious campaign, though the chicken does look pretty good in plaid,” Alexander said in a statement.
That’s a reference to Ball’s bus tour, which features a man in a chicken costume wearing a red-and-black plaid shirt, alluding to the shirt Alexander has often worn in campaigns.
Ball unveiled the man in a chicken suit on Wednesday to underscore his complaint that Alexander is afraid to debate him.